


How did we get here?

by LaneMartin13



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Female Pronouns for Pidge | Katie Holt, Hurt Shiro (Voltron), Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Worried Paladins, as usual, give them a break, implied but it's very faint sorry, mild klance, shiro and matt centric
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-31
Updated: 2019-03-31
Packaged: 2019-12-29 17:50:15
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,666
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18299153
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LaneMartin13/pseuds/LaneMartin13
Summary: They had done this hundreds of times, this one shouldn't have been any different.Except it was.OR: a simple mission goes awry when the Galra get the drop on some of the paladins





	How did we get here?

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! 
> 
> Thank you for clicking on this story and taking the time to read it! 
> 
> This was the first thing I'd ever written for Shiro/Matt and Voltron in general so please bear with me! 
> 
> I hope you enjoy the story! 
> 
> \-- L :)

       It was supposed to be a simple extraction. Infiltrate the base, get rid of any Galra in the way, get the data, get out. Easy as that. And it was that easy. Until it wasn’t. 

       Matt and Shiro had gone into the main room to retrieve the data, the younger male typing furiously at the keys as the other kept watch, urging him along quickly. They were running out of time.

       The sounds of shots from outside reverberated through the walls, shaking the building around them.

       “Matt, how long?” Shiro asked his partner, taking his eyes off the door for a moment to look at him.

       “Just a few more ticks.” Matt replied, eyes never even leaning the purple screen in front of him, fingers never stopping their motions.

       "Guys, _hurry_ _up!_ "Pidge’s voice exclaimed through the comm systems, her breathing slightly labored as she shot at the Galran defenses.

       “Lance and I are coming, you’ve got soldiers coming in hot.” Keith said, a slashing noise accompanying his words, a thump from a body hitting the wall from his side, shots from Lance’s bayard immediately following.

       “Uh, guys” Lance began timidly, voice smaller than usual, “Oh shit, it’s gonna blow!” he yelled out in panic, grabbing Keith’s hand and running down the hall as fast as he could when he saw that the Galra they had just taken out had pressed a button on a detonator.

       Shiro heard the beeping all too late. He whipped around, crying out his partner’s name in worry, trying to get to him. Suddenly, the back wall blew up in flames from the explosives, shards and shrapnel flying every which way. Shiro barely registered the cuts from debris as he was blown back and into the wall, his head spared by his helmet. His ears were ringing as he attempted to raise his upper body off the floor, barely able to push himself up as the room tilted sideways. _Matt. Matt. Where’s Matt?_ He coughed to clear his lungs, his voice sounding hoarse in the air when he called out for Matt. He vaguely heard the worried voices of his fellow paladins yelling in his ear but he tuned them out, his only focus being the rebel leader on the other side of the room. He managed to get to his feet by some grace of God, if there was one, stumbling and swaying a few times before getting a grip on himself and rushing over, being mindful of the flames and debris licking the place. “Matt!” he cried worriedly, spotting the familiar caramel colored haired male off to the side of the consul. He was lying on his stomach, arms bent up towards his head, cheek pressed to the cold floor. Shiro dropped down onto his knees beside him, shaking his shoulder before cupping his cheek and shaking him lightly to rouse him. “Matt, Matty come on, wake up.” he pleaded worriedly, glancing back over his shoulder— as his hearing returned, he could hear footsteps. Looking back down at Matt, his body limp and his features slack, he couldn’t see anything immediately wrong. Grabbing him by the shoulder, he turned him so he was lying on his back and his breath caught in his throat. Crimson blood cascaded down the left side of Matt’s face, plastered in his hair and matted on his forehead, droplets on his eyelid and in a stream down — like tears of blood. “Oh God.” Shiro breathed, hands hovering over him. He brushed his hair back away from his face, leaning down and pressing a hurried kiss to his forehead. As he pulled away he saw caramel colored eyes flutter open, brows furrowing as they looked up in a daze, pupils blown glossed over.

       “Takashi?” Matt managed to slur, the white tips of hair and scar on the nose blurring in and out of his vision. He could barely make out his boyfriend’s figure, the pounding in his head too intense and his vision doing somersaults.

       “I’m here baby. Just stay with me Matt, you’re going to be fine, just stay awake.” The black paladin assured, sliding one arm under Matt’s knees and the other under his back, drawing him close to his body. He groaned as he stood up, an ache in his bones from being thrown about in the explosion. He held Matt close to him, trying not to let himself get distracted by the fluttering eyes and lolling head against his chest. His comms crackled through his helmet and suddenly they weren’t alone anymore.

       “Shiro! Come in!” Pidge was practically screaming, her voice _dripping_ with worry.

       Lance and Keith had just barely managed to make it out of another blast zone, rushing out of the base just in time. Keith had fought Lance tooth and nail to go back in the base to find Shiro but he was held back, the blue paladin managing to convince him to stay put. _We won’t do any good if we get stuck in there too!_

       “I’m here.” Shiro said thickly, earning multiple sighs of relief from his teammates. “Ka— Pidge, Matt’s hurt.” he stumbled on his words, his composure cracking. This wasn’t just anyone, this was his everything. For once in his life he couldn’t think straight, couldn’t focus. _Dammit Shirogane, you’re the leader_ , he cursed himself mentally, _Pull it together._

       Pidge was silent on the other line for a moment before snapping out of her reverie, shaking her head from inside her lion although no one could see it. “Allura, we’re going to need a pod.” she said to the princess through the video feed, her tone hard and her face serious.

       “Keith and I are coming around the side, we’re gonna help you get out of there.” Lance said, already sprinting to where they needed to be.

       Shiro nodded, panting heavily as he rushed through the crumbling halls, hoping to go unseen by some soldiers that had been left behind. He ducked behind a corner, hearing an echo of a too familiar voice down the hall.

 “ _Champion._ ” the voice whispered from afar.

       Shiro closed his eyes tightly, steeling himself and forcing himself to ignore Haggar. He needed to get out of there and fast. Looking down at Matt, he saw his boyfriend was completely unconscious and still bleeding. Pushing off the wall, he broke into a run.

       After what seemed like centuries of evading trickles of Galra soldiers, tuning out Haggar’s voice, maneuvering through rubble and ruin, and avoiding new explosions, Shiro finally made it out to Keith and Lance. The two immediately flanked him, keeping the outside foot soldiers at bay as he rushed to Black. Only a few ticks later and they were all back in their lions, taking off again and meeting up with Yellow and Green.

       Shiro held Matt close to him in his chair, an arm around his waist as he pressed his body to his chest, simultaneously flying his lion. Black seemed to register his distress however, and took over. The Japanese man didn’t have anything to stem the bleeding with so he prayed to God that they would get to the castle soon. “Stay with me, Matt.” he whispered in his ear as he pressed a light kiss to the side of his head, the non-bloodied side.

***

       When he rushed down his ramp later, everyone was already out and waiting worriedly, most prominently was Pidge who was front and center, her helmet thrown somewhere near Green in her haste.

       Shiro barely remembered rushing to the infirmary. He barely registered Coran’s frantic movements, barely noticed himself help him practically strip Matt down and get him into the medical suit, barely realized that he was settled in the pod and was already starting to heal. He simply stood there, staring blankly at the pod his lover was in, glaring at the blood that was still on his head and in his beautiful hair. The last thing he heard was Pidge’s voice gently asking him what happened, hands catching him— then nothing.

       Keith caught his brother before he could hit the floor, expecting his collapse. He only wished he could have gotten him into a pod before. “He’s hurt.” he told the others, Lance coming over and helping him get him on a bed to get him ready for a pod.

       “Oh dear.” Coran sighed, checking him over as he changed him. “His injuries do not seem to be severe and with some time in a pod, he’ll be back on his feet in no time, just a little rattled from being thrown about.” he declared, appointing Hunk to help him get him settled in a pod next to Matt.

       “They’re going to be okay, right?” Pidge asked, her voice sounding much younger than it usually was as she stood next to Matt’s pod, a hand pressed to the glass.

       “They will be.” Coran nodded slowly in assurance, twisting the corner of his mustache between his fingers.

       “What the quiznak happened?” Lance asked softly to know one in particular, eyeing the two in the pods.

       “Luckily Matt was able to finish the download and we have the information, we can see the video footage that way as well. For now, why don’t we all just get some rest.” Allura said to the others, ushering all of them except for Pidge, out. 

***

       Three days later, Matt had still not woken. Shiro had fallen out of his pod completely healed after day one, and he hadn’t left Matt’s side since going to change his clothes.

       Pidge was either pacing or sitting in front of the pod, only leaving when Allura or one of the other paladins forced her to go sleep in her bed or eat something substantial. “Why isn’t he waking up?” she groaned frustratedly, tugging at her hair.

       “He just needs some more time, Pidge, that’s all.” Shiro said gently, standing beside her and resting his hand on her shoulder. “He’ll be awake and rambling about God knows what mechanics in no time.” he continued, giving it a squeeze. “Now, why don’t you get something to eat with the others, I’ll watch over him.”

       Pidge fixed him a stubborn look but eventually caved with a sigh. “You know, as much as you complain about it, you don’t necessarily help your case about being Space Dad.” she said matter-of-factly as she stood up and started towards the door, looking back at him.

       “I know.” Shiro laughed, taking her unoccupied place. When she was gone, he let the smile fade from his face as he leaned back in his chair. “Wake up soon, Matt.” he whispered to the unconscious figure, closing his eyes for a moment.

***

       When Matt Holt finally did wake up, four days had passed. The glass door slid open and his legs gave almost immediately as he was ejected, falling straight out. He would’ve smacked the floor ungracefully had it not been for strong arms circling his waist and easing him down. Clutching onto the person, his head rested on their shoulder, he waited a few ticks before opening his eyes slowly. His limbs felt like jello and his body felt weak, a fuzzy haze clouding over his mind and making it harder to think.

       “Matt?” Shiro asked gently, sliding his human hand up and down his back slowly.

       “‘m ‘ere.” Matt mumbled, bringing one hand up to rub his eyes before pushing himself off of Shiro’s chest gingerly. Blinking his eyes a few times to clear them, his boyfriend’s face finally came into vision. “Are you okay?” he asked, voice stronger now and words more pronounced.

       “I should be asking you that.” Shiro laughed tearfully, pulling him close again and kissing his hair. “ _God_ Matt, you were out for four days I thought—” he started, but was cut off.

       “Ssh, I’m okay, Takashi. I’m alright.” Matt soothed, turning his face to press a light kiss to his lips. “You got me out.” he assured with a soft nod, “Thank you.”

       Shiro still looked at him in worry but nodded slightly, setting his hands on his waist. “Let’s get you in some better clothes.” he said, distracting himself with helping Matt, gently easing him up on unsteady legs.

       Pidge had brought in Matt’s regular clothes earlier, having set them on the desk. Picking them up, Shiro helping Matt change before leading him to sit down on a chair and pressing the call button to alert the other paladins.

       Before either of them could even say anything to one another, the others had come rushing in, Pidge leading the group. She stopped, looking at Matt for a moment before running towards him and barreling him in a hug.

       Matt held her close, running his fingers through her hair to calm her down. “I’m okay Kate, I’m okay.” he whispered, hugging her closely.

       Pidge pulled back for a moment, hitting him in the chest and earning an _Ow!_ in response, “Don’t you _ever. Ever._ Do that again. I _will not_ lose you again.” she said seriously, sniffing after.

       “I’ll always come back to you, pigeon.” he promised with shining eyes, “You can’t get rid of me that easily.” he smiled jokingly to lighten the mood.

       “You ass.” Pidge laughed through her tears, hugging him again.

       When the siblings finally did pull away, they were engulfed in a group hug.

       “Glad you’re okay, buddy.” Lance piped up when they broke apart.

       “Me too.” Matt nodded with a soft smile as he looked at them all. “Thanks guys.”

       “That’s what family’s for.” Hunk smiled, giving a salute.

       “Dinner will be ready soon so we should give Matt some time before then.” Allura said, giving the others knowing looks.

       “Wh—” Lance started but was cut off by an elbow to the ribs from Keith. “What the _quiznak_ , Keith?” he hissed but the red paladin rolled his eyes. 

       “Come on genius.” he said, tilting his head to the door as Lance finally caught on.

       “ _Oh_.” Lance mouthed, snapping his mouth shut and nodding quickly as he made his way out with the others.

       “Don’t do anything exerting.” Pidge said to her brother and Shiro, nudging them both in the arms as she passed.

       “Katie.” Matt whined, shooting her an annoyed look from her accusations.

       She smiled innocently, bringing two fingers from her eyes to them, signaling that she was watching them, before rushing to catch up with the others.

       The pair did not acknowledge each other’s blush, Shiro clearing his throat to ease the air.

       “Can you walk?” he asked, standing in front of him. Matt’s leg gave him trouble sometimes from Kerberos and he figured it might be weaker now that Matt himself was weakened.

       “Yeah, but with some help I think.” Matt admitted, beginning to stand up slowly and holding onto Shiro’s arm, eventually making their way to Shiro’s room together.

       “Why don’t you get some rest?” Shiro suggested when he helped him lie down, still worried sick about him no matter how many times Matt insisted he was fine along the way.

       “Stay with me?” Matt asked softly, holding onto his hand and tugging on it softly. 

       “Always.” Shiro nodded, laying down beside him and pulling the covers up over them. 

       The smaller male curled into his side, resting his head on his chest and his hand on his abdomen. 

       Shiro used his human arm to wrap around Matt’s shoulders, running his fingers through his shortened hair. “I love you, Matt.” he whispered, looking down at his boyfriend’s relaxed face.

       “I love you too, Takashi.” Matt mumbled into his chest, a soft tired smile on his face as he dozed off.

       Shiro smiled and laid his head back on the pillow, closing his eyes and drifting off.

       When Pidge came to wake them for dinner later, she smiled happily and mischievously, snapping a photo of them with the camera she made before leaving them to rest.

       It was an easy mission gone wrong, it happened sometimes in war. They’d survive it together.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading! Hope you enjoyed it! 
> 
> \-- L :)


End file.
